The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 885 This is the Anxi Army
French Marshal Masséna's judgment was quite accurate, because if he hadn't rushed there, Lannes and Udino really wouldn't have been able to hold out.

Massena's arrival quickly helped Lana and Udino withstand the Austrians' desperate counterattack, and the two sides engaged in a fierce battle around the village of Aislin almost for the last time.

In the final, brutal battle, the Austrian German 4th Line Infantry Regiment suffered more than half its casualties, and more than 200 of the 3,000 men of the Xia Fan Left Guard died on the spot.

France suffered over two thousand casualties in one wave, but managed to hold on.

But neither Rana nor Udino showed any joy, because they knew very well what it meant for Massena to come and support them.

The village of Aspern has fallen, and the Austrian army may already be setting up their cannons.

Although Aspern Village and Aislin Village are not close, there is no need to worry about Aspern Village's artillery bombarding Aislin Village.

But this also means that the French army will have to cross the river or retreat from here on, whether they want to continue or retreat.

Given the current state of the war, even though the French army still has at least 70,000 men, of whom at least 50,000 are capable of fighting, it is impossible for them to continue fighting.

War is not like playing a video game. In a video game, at this point, you only need to click the mouse, and the remaining soldiers can continue fighting, making it very possible to turn the tide.

But this is reality. In reality, soldiers are flesh and blood, they are human beings who feel fear, terror, and have their own thoughts.

They didn't consider how many people they still had; all they knew was that Aspern village had been captured and the Austrians were about to attack Eslin village. The only thing they could do was retreat, or they would lose their lives.

Perhaps all 70,000 to 80,000 people crossing the river were Imperial Guards, Napoleon's old guard, and the battle could continue.

Unfortunately, the main force of the French army is currently in the Iberian Peninsula of Spain and Portugal.

The French troops here consisted largely of new recruits and northern Italians transferred from Eugène Beauharnais, Napoleon's stepson.

These people clearly lack the courage and perseverance to fight bravely in such a desperate situation.

“Let’s retreat now. I’m worried that if the Austrian artillery in Aspern opens fire, our morale will collapse.” The three marshals exchanged glances, and Massena spoke first.

Udino hesitated, because he had led fresh troops across the river, but had not achieved any merit and had instead been severely beaten.

Now that he hastily crossed the river back, it has dealt a huge blow to his image in front of the emperor.

"But His Majesty has not yet given us the order to retreat. Shouldn't we send someone to inquire?"

“There’s no time for that!” As one of the most skilled marshals in the French Empire, and also the marshal with the best relationship with French Emperor Napoleon, Lannes made a quick decision.

“I will take responsibility. You must arrange the retreat immediately. We cannot delay. Most of these soldiers are new recruits, and there is a high probability that they will break down when faced with the threat of death.”

Just then, terrifying gunshots and cries rang out from a military camp between Aspern and Aislin villages, accompanied by towering flames.

It turned out that a group of wandering Transylvanian skirmishers had stumbled upon this place, discovered the field hospital built here, and then quickly killed all six hundred-plus wounded French soldiers in the hospital and burned it down.

“This is a sign that the army is starting to fall into chaos. Many people are so panicked that they can no longer hold their posts. Retreat, start now!” Rana said in a deep voice.

This suggestion was absolutely correct, because it saved the lives of many French soldiers.

On the Austrian side, Archduke Charles only allowed more than 20,000 French troops to cross the river before launching the attack. By the time nearly 50,000 French troops had crossed the river, Austria, with its overwhelming numerical superiority, had essentially ended the battle.

Meanwhile, fearing that the French army would be overwhelmed by crossing too many rivers, Archduke Charles prepared a large number of barges filled with stones upstream of the Danube before the war.

After the war began, the Austrian army took advantage of the rising waters of the Danube River to send barges downstream, destroying more than half of the pontoon bridges used by the French army to cross the river.

In this situation, the French army, without the pontoon bridge, had no choice but to retreat, and in the end, including those captured, they lost more than 20,000 men.

This time, however, Archduke Charles feared that the French army would find out about his pre-arranged barges, thus revealing his 'feigned defeat' and preventing them from crossing the river.

Therefore, no arrangements were made for the French army to cross the river, which allowed the French army to retreat relatively smoothly.

Of course, the French losses were actually greater than those of the historical Battle of Aspern-Aisling.

Because the historical loss of more than 20,000 people was mostly due to wounded soldiers who were captured, with only four or five thousand actually killed in battle.

This time, many wounded soldiers fled, but the number of dead had exceeded seven thousand, which dealt an even more severe blow to morale.

What's even more terrifying is that this battle is not over yet.

As dusk fell, 20,000 Anxi soldiers, arranged in ten columns, sped across the Magdefeld Plain west of Vienna.

No one in the entire army spoke out of turn; only the officers' orders and heavy footsteps could be heard.

Every soldier carried his own food and ammunition, and the officers were no exception. The 20,000 men were all combat soldiers, not including any auxiliary soldiers.

In the Great Yu Dynasty, the Anxi Army is currently a very special entity.

In terms of equipment and pay, the Anxi Army was only slightly inferior to the Twelve Imperial Guards who accompanied the emperor and the Sixteen Garrison Army stationed in the two capitals and one capital, namely Nanjing, Beijing and Guangzhou Prefecture.

As for the source of troops, they are basically on par with the Imperial Guard and the Beijing Garrison. This is because the Anxi Army is now tacitly regarded as the Crown Prince's personal army, which is the army of the Six Guards of the Eastern Palace.

Emperor Mozibu has repeatedly stated that he will abdicate within ten years. Therefore, at most ten years later, those who follow the Crown Prince in the Anxi army will all be meritorious officials who helped him rise to power, and their future will certainly be bright.

As a result, in recent years, a large number of civil and military elites of the Great Yu Dynasty have gone to Anxi.

For example, Tao Shu, the assistant minister of the Anxi Envoy, gave up his position as vice minister of the Ministry of Revenue to become the second-in-command of the distant Anxi Envoy, which was entirely aimed at the future position of prime minister.

For example, Lin Zexu, the third prime minister, was the cousin of Houguan Hou Lin Qiaoyin, and became famous throughout the country at the age of fourteen.

After passing the imperial examination with flying colors and becoming the second-highest scorer, he did not stay in the central government or wealthy provinces like Jiangnan to accumulate connections and experience. Instead, under Lin Qiaoyin's arrangement, he came to the Caucasus region of Anxi to serve as the prime minister of the Liao Dynasty.

Did he really think so highly of Liao King Mo Zhouzhao that he was willing to risk his future?
No, he was after Crown Prince Sen.

If even such important officials and celebrities came, then even more talents from all walks of life would have come.

Therefore, the Anxi Army cannot be simply regarded as a border defense force. They were the Imperial Guard Border Defense Force, and their combat effectiveness was not at the level of ordinary border defense forces, but at the level of the Imperial Guard.

Even the Liaodong soldiers in this Anxi army were the same. You should know where Mo Zhouzhao's maternal grandfather's family was from; he was the grandson of a man from Huaihe River.

The main force of the Liaodong Three Guards came from the standard Huaihe River region, including Luzhou, Xuzhou, Shouzhou, Sizhou, Suzhou, and Huai'an.

Since ancient times, the Huai River region has been a place that produces strong soldiers, especially cavalry, which are exceptionally fierce at this time. With them wholeheartedly joining the Liao army, it is certainly not a weak force.

“It’s four in the morning. We’re ten kilometers away from the enemy and about to enter their scouting area.” Li Xingtai halted his advance when he was less than five kilometers from the French army.

"I demand that the entire army begin its advance from this point with light equipment. All artillery should be left for the three thousand rear guards for transport, and the rest of the troops should have a full meal and rest for a quarter of an hour before setting off."

We are only allowed to bring weapons and ammunition. Nothing else is permitted: drinking water, bedding, or dry rations.

Upon hearing the order, Bao Youxin, the commander of the Left Guard of the Liaodong Peninsula, a native of Lu'an, Anhui, who ranked fifth in the second class of the military examination in the twenty-fourth year of Guangzhong (1799), asked somewhat hesitantly:

"Your Majesty, according to the plan you and Prince Xia devised, we should have marched north of the Danube to deliver a fatal blow to the French army."

But our attack on the French rear camp south of the Danube goes against the original plan. Won't that miss a crucial opportunity?

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Li Yunlong, a fellow graduate of Bao Youxin and the martial arts champion of the 24th year of the Guangzhong era from Fucheng, Hebei, also agreed.
"According to intelligence, King Xia has already let 80,000 French troops cross the river, and the Austrians are very likely to be unable to hold out."

"What if we send our entire army to fight the French on the south bank, and the French on the north bank defeat the Austrians?"

King Li Xingtai of Liang chuckled, "If I were the commander-in-chief, you would all have to obey my orders. What does it matter to us how many Austrians die?"

We're here to help the Xia Kingdom establish itself and, incidentally, to beat the French to a pulp, as long as the Austrian Empire still exists. What does it matter if a few more of them die!
And since you know that 80,000 French troops have crossed the river, why are we going to the north bank of the river?
He crossed the river with 80,000 men, leaving only 10,000 to 20,000 men on the south bank. The supplies are still on the south bank. If we take it, won't the morale of the French army on the north bank collapse?

"Then we'll pursue them relentlessly, and wipe out the Imperial Guard as well!"

“The King of Liang is right!” Ge Yunfei, the young hero who made great contributions in capturing Princess Maria’s Castle (Tbilisi) and is now a fierce general of the Liao army, agreed with Li Xingtai’s point of view.

"If the French army defeats the Austrian army on the other side of the river, then we will burn their supplies and force them to retreat."

If the French army fails to defeat the Austrian army on the other side of the river and is forced to retreat to the south bank, then our mission will strike just when they are in a state of panic.

With my 20,000 fierce and powerful troops, I have defeated the enemy army, which is in complete disarray. How could I not achieve a great and resounding victory!

As expected of a historical figure, Ge Yunfei, having received the best education and a better future in this era, possesses a broader vision and greater abilities than in history.

As he predicted, the Anxi army's move to the north bank as planned was merely icing on the cake, but their move to the south bank was a historic achievement.

It was past five in the morning, and Napoleon Bonaparte's tent was still lit up; he couldn't sleep!
Last year's crushing defeat in Spain could be attributed to the incompetence of the generals, but this time, with so many generals gathered and him personally taking the lead, the result was still so poor. It can't be blamed on someone else.

Napoleon knew very well that he was about to swallow the bitter pill of his first crushing defeat. He could say that his previous expedition to Egypt was due to the navy's influence, but this time he was fighting it himself.

"Your Majesty, I suggest we begin our retreat now; this battle is beyond our control."

The Austrians seemed to have learned from their defeat at Austerlitz, and their fighting strength was much greater than before.

"Then we need to bring back more veterans to defeat them in the next battle!" Lannes, his eyes red and still recovering, suggested to Napoleon that without the Anxi army, the French army and the Austrian army and the Gajah vassal army would actually be evenly matched at this point.

The combined forces of the Austrian army and the Xia army numbered just over 100,000, with more than 8,000 killed and over 20,000 wounded. In particular, the elite troops suffered heavy losses, with over 1,000 of the Xia army's three guards alone dying in battle. They essentially lost the will to launch an offensive.

Therefore, although the French army was clearly beginning to cross the river and withdraw, the Austrians were also unable to continue fighting, and Archduke Karl feared that the next attack would expose the true nature of the Austrian army.

At this time, the French army still had about 20,000 men on the opposite bank of the Danube and on the island in the middle of the river, while more than 60,000 men had already retreated to the south bank of the river. Therefore, Lannes advised Napoleon to retreat now.

Napoleon shook his head. "We cannot abandon the wounded. The Austrians have lost the courage to launch an attack. We can retreat calmly."

“Archduke John of Austria still has 30,000 men under his command, and I’m worried they might suddenly appear before us,” Lana continued to persuade.

Napoleon rarely showed a smile. "Don't worry, my friend. Archduke John is a coward. Most of his troops are new recruits. It's impossible for him to get here now."

Even if they get here, they won't cause us much trouble. I...

With a deafening explosion, before Napoleon could finish speaking, a towering flame illuminated the earth, and a long, piercing bugle call, unlike anything the French army had ever heard before, echoed across the south bank of the Danube.

Under the faint moonlight, more than 10,000 Anxi soldiers appeared like suddenly appearing beasts. Without a single shout of charge or the excited cries of someone new to the battlefield, they silently launched an attack on the French camp under the moonlight.

A regiment of French soldiers, used by Napoleon as a sentinel, looked around in terror. They could barely see the enemy; the army that was about to attack them was like a tiger in the night, and when you saw it, it was time for your life to end.

The Anxi army's tactics were simple: use their black uniforms as cover, get close, throw bombs, and then engage in hand-to-hand combat with bayonets.

As for raising a gun and firing, that's something to do after a prolonged struggle; there's no room for lining up to be shot in this pitch black.

Snapped!
A flare, an improvement on fireworks, shot into the sky. As the white light, like a shower of petals, fell down, a French major general finally saw what was attacking them.

Around his tent were soldiers dressed in black uniforms, without hats, and with half of their left arms bound in red cloth as a distinguishing feature.

Even though the flares exposed them, the soldiers remained calm, their expressions unchanged, filled with a cruelty and deathly stillness like that of the most ferocious beasts.

"Don't shout, they're using sound to pinpoint the direction of the attack!"

The major general suddenly realized why the enemy had been able to accurately pinpoint his location even in the pitch-black dawn; they had been following the sound to launch their attack.

"Damn it, we shouldn't have fired the flares." After shouting that, a sudden realization dawned on the French major general.

Sure enough, his flares were practically marking the French positions. The Anxi army immediately charged toward the flares, bombs flying everywhere and bayonets flashing. In no time, the French troops on guard were routed.

Their screams of retreat caused panic among the French troops who were already asleep in other camps. Many of them were awakened wearing only shorts and then began to flee as well.

Bao Youxin led over a hundred elite soldiers from the Huai River region, armed with ox-tail knives, and mingled among the fleeing French troops. They hacked and slashed wildly, amidst the terrified cries of the French soldiers. Their aim was not to kill the most people, but to create the greatest possible spectacle.

On the other side, martial arts champion Li Yunlong, along with his fellow villagers from Fucheng, Hebei, were setting fire to French army camps everywhere with incendiary bombs of all sizes.

Meanwhile, Ge Yunfei led an assassination squad deep into the French army camp. They did not kill the routed soldiers, but instead targeted the officers who were regrouping their troops.

These are the true elite troops: resolute in their attacks, with clear division of labor, ruthless in their actions, and officers leading the charge in the most dangerous situations.

Therefore, as soon as the battle began, the French army, mainly composed of new recruits and northern Italians, could not hold out.

For a time, there were cries and explosions everywhere. Even Napoleon couldn't figure out which direction the enemy was coming from, how many of them there were, or even who they were.

"It's the Seres, Your Majesty, the Seres are here!" In the end, it was Lieutenant General Jean-Marie Dorson, commander of the 2nd Imperial Guard Division, who discovered who the enemy was.

This unit was entirely composed of veteran guards, so General Dosen deployed a regiment to the east that withstood two surprise attacks by the Anxi army and saw who the attackers were.

"The Seres?" Emperor Napoleon exclaimed incredulously, a hint of panic finally creeping into his voice.

“Yes, they are Seres. I guess they are reinforcements invited by Prince Ferdinand of Belgium. They may have arrived in Europe a long time ago, but we just didn’t know it.” Lieutenant General Dosson was covered in sweat.

"Your Majesty, please leave!" Marshal Lannes said solemnly. Then, without waiting for Napoleon's objection, he immediately signaled Marshal Masséna and Napoleon's close advisors to help the emperor leave.

"Please leave His Majesty's banner to me, and I will lead General Saint-Hilaire's division of the Second Army to block the enemy."

Lana said to Lieutenant General Dosen beside him, "Since the Second Division is composed of veteran Imperial Guards, they are the last line of defense for the Emperor, and even the Emperor's banner is with them."

“No, let me, my friend, I cannot leave the flag to you.” Napoleon knew what Lannes wanted the flag for; he wanted to draw all of Seres’ firepower.

“Your Majesty, the French Empire can do without me, Jean Ranna, but it cannot do without Your Majesty the Emperor, and I am not necessarily going to die in battle.”

With that, Lanna took the banner symbolizing Emperor Napoleon from General Dosson and left without looking back.

At 6:30 a.m., the sky began to brighten.

Although the French army was mostly composed of new recruits and Italians, it still demonstrated the fighting power of the best army in Europe. Although many French soldiers were in disarray, many others spontaneously continued to fight.

As visibility returned, large numbers of French troops, in regimental, battalion, and even company units, launched sporadic resistance attacks.

The Anxi army's advance slowed down after an hour of fighting.

Of course, the main reason was that they were blocked by French troops on a hill. Those French troops, positioned on high ground, blocked the road with fierce artillery fire. If the Anxi army wanted to bypass them, they would suffer heavy casualties.

Li Xingtai looked at the red, white and blue tricolor flag flying high on the hill and the Roman Empire's eagle flag with its intricate patterns and rich colors, a sign of the presence of French Emperor Napoleon.

Not only did Li Xingtai see it, but many French soldiers also saw it after dawn, and they spontaneously began to gather towards the flag.

"Ge Yunfei, do you think the French Emperor Napoleon is actually on it?" Li Xingtai asked, patting Ge Yunfei on the shoulder.

"Your Majesty, whether Napoleon is here or not, we must focus our attack on this place."

Because Napoleon wasn't under the flag, he cunningly escaped our pursuit.

"But if we don't launch a major attack under this banner and let him escape, it would mean we've let an emperor go free and lost the great achievement of capturing the king." Ge Yunfei quickly gave his answer.

"Hahahaha!" Li Xingtai laughed loudly. "You're right, kid. Whether Napoleon is here or not, we have to fight here."

"Baoning, you lead two thousand cavalry to continue the pursuit until your cavalry can no longer fight. The rest of you go and help the rear guard drag the cannons over. You can't attack hills like these without cannons!"

At 8:00 a.m., the Anxi army's artillery arrived and then launched a strong attack.

Meanwhile, the Austrian army on the opposite side also discovered the situation and began a fierce attack on the 10,000 wounded French soldiers on the north bank of the Danube River, while the French troops on the island in the river had already begun to flee on steamships.

At 10 a.m., after launching five group assaults, the Anxi army finally approached the last French position, a supply depot built on the top of a hill and constructed of stone.

Marshal Jean Lannes' face was blackened by gunpowder smoke, making him almost unrecognizable.

His fierce general, Lieutenant General Saint-Hilaire, was shot in the chest and lay on a stretcher, barely alive, his blood soaking through the white cotton cloth of the stretcher.

“My old brother, it really saddens me to see you like this. Although we all hoped to perform better in front of His Majesty in order to gain command of the Imperial Guard, that was merely a demonstration of our loyalty to the Empire and His Majesty the Emperor.”

Lannes was rambling on, while Saint-Hilaire, whom Napoleon called the most perfect division commander in large-scale warfare and known as the Iron-Leg General, was on his deathbed.

He looked at Marshal Rana, his voice weak, and uttered his last words with difficulty, "Please tell His Majesty that I have fulfilled my duty."

Marshal Rana couldn't help but give a wry smile. "I'm afraid I can't convey your message, because I probably won't be able to see His Majesty either."

As fate would have it, just as Marshal Rana finished speaking, a cannonball flew over with a sharp whistle and then slammed into the space between General Saint-Hilaire and Marshal Rana, who were on stretchers.

General Saint-Hilaire was instantly severed in two and sent flying into the air, while Marshal Lana screamed as his body below the knees was mangled and bloody.

His personal guards rushed over to help Marshal Rana up, but with just a gentle touch, Marshal Rana's legs fell straight down from the knees.

In excruciating pain, Marshal Rana sighed and had his bodyguards place him on the ground against the wall.

"You may surrender now. This war is over. You have fulfilled your duty. May God bless you, and may the Seres not be as fond of mistreating prisoners as the English."

Forty minutes later, Li Xingtai personally led his troops to this last stronghold of France. He looked at Marshal Lannes on the ground and sighed.

“As expected, Emperor Napoleon is not here.” He then pointed to Lana, “Although he is not as good as Ji Xin, he is still a loyal and righteous man. Let’s take him away and try to save him.”

Jean Lannes, who was already in a semi-conscious state, pointed to the body of General Saint-Hilaire, which had been broken in two and then pieced back together.

"Please collect this hero's body; the French will be grateful."

After saying that, he fainted again.

Five hours later, Marshal Jean Rana, whose legs had both been broken, died in his bed at the Anxi Army Field Hospital due to excessive blood loss and wound infection.

The groom's son, an apprentice in the dyeing workshop, lived out his brilliant life.

The Battle of Aspern-Aisling, which had a significant impact on the Napoleonic Wars, came to an end.

(End of this chapter)